Fairview Fast 5
District News from the Fairview Park City Schools
Welcome to the latest edition of the Fairview “Fast Five” newsletter. In this edition, you will learn more about the engaging learning activities our staff create to tie academic content to their student interests.
You will learn about how world language students gain a comprehensive understanding of the French and Spanish language by immersing themselves in the culture and cuisines of various countries.
Lewis F. Mayer Middle School was proud to host a regional Power of the Pen tournament in January involving 13 schools and 160 students as they competed in a prestigious creative writing competition. The seventh grade team finished first and the eight grade team placed third.
You will also learn how 4th graders in Miss Kenney’s classes learned about patriots from the American Revolution and put their historical research skills into practice.
Finally, as we turn the page on the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year, planning for the 2024-2025 school year has already begun. On January 22, the District launched Kindergarten registration. You can read more about how to register your child for Kindergarten next year in this newsletter.
As always, we thank you for your continued interest in the Fairview Park City School District and encourage you learn more about the great things happening in our school community by following us on social meda or looking at the latest news on our website at www.fairviewparkschools.org
Sincerely,
Keith Ahearn
Superintendent
Kindergarten will look slightly different for students and parents at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year as the program moves to Gilles-Sweet Elementary. But don’t worry - the school is already planning for a smooth transition for everyone as the district starts Kindergarten Registration.
“I’m very excited about the addition of Kindergarten,” Gilles-Sweet Elementary Principal Matt Krivak explained. “The last time Kindergarten was here at Gilles-Sweet was during the 2019-2020 school year when the EEC (Early Education Center) was being renovated. It was just a nice sense of community to have Kindergarten with all of their colleagues all under one roof.”
Currently, Kindergarten students attend the Parkview EEC located on Mastick Road. In September 2023, Fairview Park Superintendent Keith Ahearn proposed to the Board of Education that Kindergarten be moved to Gilles-Sweet prior to the start of the 2024-2025 school year.
Today, our world is closer than ever before. Effective communication and understanding the complexities of other cultures are integral to success in various industries.
In Fairview Park, world language students learn more than just the words of a new language. They also delve deeply into the countries and cultures of these languages, providing new perspectives and experiences during a student’s educational journey.
One way world language students experience this is through food.
“Our standards are about culture as well as language,” Spanish Teacher Sandy Arancibia explained. “We need to understand culture. We talk about the different countries and some of the foods because they are very different. We’re trying to help them understand that what we eat at Nuevo Acapulco is not necessarily what they eat in all Spanish-speaking countries.”
by Grace Wering, sophomore
During his time at Fairview, Larsen was a standout three-sport athlete for the Warriors. He earned ten varsity letters during his career at Fairview, including three in football, three in wrestling, and four in track and field. He was twice named the MVP of the track and field team and was also selected as MVP of the football team. He set numerous school records during his athletic career and was named the 1988 FHS Male Athlete of the Year. In 2011, he was inducted into the Fairview High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Students begin a lot of educational “firsts” at Gilles-Sweet Elementary. In Miss Emily Kenney’s fourth grade class, two major skill sets are introduced with one project.
In November, Kenney’s students start a month-long research project into American patriots from the Revolutionary War.
“In language arts, we have a big unit in Collaborative Classroom [the District’s reading and writing curriculum] on research, and it’s more of a guided, pick-your-own topic,” Kenney explained. “We have found that fourth graders are lacking in foundational research skills, so by focusing on one topic and allowing them to pick one patriot from a list, it gives them more focus.”
The unit, however, is more than just a look into famous historical Americans.
“They learn sequential and chronological order, and it also helps them really dive into the skills of researching,” Kenney stated. “This generation is very into going to Google and typing in questions. We start with books, and we read a page. We learn about what information was on that page that they could put in a graphic organizer. We really start with the basics.”
Seventh and eighth grade students from Lewis F. Mayer Middle School continued to display excellence in writing at this year’s Power of the Pen District Tournament, hosted this year at Fairview High School and Mayer Middle School on January 13.
Thirteen Mayer Middle School students joined students from 14 other schools for an afternoon of creative writing. Those who placed in the top 50% of the district tournament qualified for the regional tournament at Baldwin-Wallace University on March 9.
The Fairview Park Women’s Club and the Fairview Park City School District sponsored the Power of the Pen District Tournament.
Would you be willing to invest in the career development of Fairview Park students?
If you would like to sign-up to showcase your career, please complete and submit the 2024 Career Night Interest form. If you have questions, please contact the MS/HS PTA Career Night co-chairs, Kim Crandall (kimcrandall51@gmail.com) or Kellie DuBay Gillis (kdubaygillis@gmail.com)
For 2024, we are hoping to add new technology-related careers, sustainability/green jobs, as well as careers related to the arts. If you know of anyone working in these fields, please feel free to share this information with them.
Thank you for considering our invitation for the Fairview Park Middle School/High School PTA 2024 Career Night. Our events have been a huge success thanks to volunteers like you who take the time to showcase your career! We are excited to make another amazing night of career exploration available to our students. This event is part of our high school's Junior Experience program that provides students with dedicated time to explore their potential post-graduation interests through job shadowing and/or college visits.
This year's Career Night will be held on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 from 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM in the Fairview High School gymnasium.
In December, the Fairview Park City School District released the 2022-2023 Annual Report.
The 2022-2023 Annual Report reviews all areas of the District's operations and finances, vision and mission, educational initiatives, and our unique programs. It covers the many pathways students can discover, from Advanced Placement to Career and Technical Education. It also highlights the educational and extracurricular opportunities available to all students, including arts, athletics, and clubs and organizations.
The Annual Report also highlights accomplishments from throughout the 2022-2023 school year. Features include the District’s 5-star rating, AP and Career Tech awards for students, and athletic and artistic achievements. In addition, the report features a year-in-review at the conclusion that highlights additional District-wide accomplishments from the 2022-2023 academic year.
